By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer

PHOENIX - The only thing about Wily Mo Pena larger than his talent might be his desire to play.

Pena injured his left wrist on a check swing in the first inning of Friday's 2-0 victory over Arizona.

"When I came off the field, I cried," he said. "I want to play so bad."

Pena hit two more times before being lifted for a pinch hitter. He is listed as day-to-day. The soonest he'll return to the lineup is Tuesday when the Reds open a homestand against the St. Louis Cardinals.

He was ordered not to swing a bat Saturday or today. He was fitted with a brace to protect the wrist.

"They said a couple of days," Pena said. "It's no big deal. I just hope I can play Tuesday."

Pena has become the regular center fielder since Ken Griffey Jr. was injured.

He has made a huge leap since getting regular playing time. In 72 games since May, Pena is hitting .267 with 21 home runs and 52 RBI. That's a 47-homer and 117-RBI pace for a full season.

"I want to play," he said. "This is tough."

The wrist was a bit better Saturday. But Pena still has pain, and his range of motion is limited.

With Pena out of the lineup, Darren Bragg started in center field and Jacob Cruz started in right.

Pena could use a break. He has only two hits in his last 19 at-bats.

GRAVES UPDATE: The MRI on Danny Graves' back showed that he does not have a bulging disc.

His back spasms were caused by a strain. Graves was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday. He is eligible to come off Sept. 3.

SHARED MILESTONE: Luke Hudson recorded his first big-league win, and Joe Valentine recorded his first big-league save in Friday's win.

That's only the fourth time in club history that pitchers have earned their first win and first save in the same game. The last time it happened was April 24, 1992. Steve Foster got the win and Scott Bankhead the save.

That Hudson's win came over Randy Johnson made it a little more special.

"It feels great," Hudson said. "To get your first win against a future Hall of Famer is unbelievable."

PAPA TODD: Todd Van Poppel's wife, Alecia, gave birth to the couple's third child Friday.

The boy, named Riley Mason, weighed in at 8 pounds, 14 ounces.

Van Poppel remained at home in Southlake, Texas. He'll rejoin the team Tuesday in Cincinnati.

RUN, RYAN, RUN: Ryan Freel's two stolen bases Friday night led directly to both the Reds' runs.

"He had Randy's move down pretty good," manager Dave Miley said. "He studies guys."

Freel has been running more lately. Six of his 25 stolen bases have come in the last 10 games. He is 6-for-6 in that span.

Freel has the green light.

"But we have a 'whoa, horse' sign, too," Miley said.

MEET THE MAYOR: Beginning Monday at 9 a.m., fans can bid online on a chance to meet Sean Casey and his teammates during batting practice. Bid at www.cincinnatireds.com/caseyauction. The package includes four terrace infield box seats to any game from Sept. 9 to end of the season (except Sept. 18). The auction will benefit Lighthouse Youth Services.

FARM REPORT: Joe Wilson, the left-hander obtained in the Cory Lidle trade, had a rough night for Single-A Dayton Friday. He allowed 10 runs on eight hits in 2 1/3 innings in a 13-2 loss to Peoria.

Right-hander Jake Meyer was very good in his return to the organization. Meyer allowed one earned run over five innings in Double-A Chattanooga's 8-3 win over Jacksonville.UP NEXT: The Reds wrap up the three-game series against the Diamondbacks today at 4:35 p.m. Left-hander Brandon Claussen (1-3, 5.87 ERA) faces left-hander Steve Randolph (2-3, 4.50).

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E-mail jfay@enquirer.com

Reds statistics

(Not including Saturday's game)

BATTERS	AVG	OBA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	E
Casey	.337	.394	418	78	141	38	2	19	78	36	26	1	0	6
Larkin	.308	.357	308	54	95	15	3	7	42	25	34	2	0	4
Freel	.279	.381	376	50	105	14	5	1	21	53	65	25	8	12
Dunn	.277	.401	423	80	117	24	0	36	76	83	145	4	1	5
Lopez	.267	.331	116	18	31	11	0	4	14	11	34	0	0	9
Jimenez	.257	.352	428	53	110	19	2	7	44	62	74	9	6	6
LaRue	.255	.333	310	40	79	17	2	13	41	21	83	0	2	8
Pena	.254	.307	284	36	72	8	1	22	57	17	93	3	1	6
Griffey	.253	.351	300	49	76	18	0	20	60	44	67	1	0	1
Castro	.246	.275	236	27	58	18	2	3	19	10	41	0	0	7
Cruz	.235	.318	115	18	27	5	0	3	22	10	33	0	0	0
Valentin	.224	.273	152	15	34	7	1	5	16	10	26	0	0	4
Larson	.212	.304	118	13	25	6	0	3	14	14	35	1	0	5
Kearns	.195	.327	87	10	17	2	1	3	13	16	30	1	1	1
Bragg	.194	.286	31	5	6	2	0	2	2	4	11	0	0	0
Vander Wal	.162	.205	37	2	6	2	0	2	4	2	14	0	0	0
Romano	.154	.214	26	3	4	0	0	1	3	2	10	0	0	0
Team Totals	.254	.334	4126	570	1049	216	19	152	542	444	965	49	19	82

PITCHERS	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Hudson	1	1	3.97	2	2	0	11.1	14	6	5	0	6	7
Graves	1	5	4.09	61	0	37	61.2	68	33	28	12	11	38
Norton	1	3	4.42	54	0	0	53.0	53	30	26	4	25	36
Riedling	4	3	4.50	54	0	0	60.0	64	38	30	6	32	32
Harang	7	5	4.53	20	20	0	113.1	126	59	57	11	41	93
Wilson	9	4	4.54	23	23	0	142.2	157	76	72	22	51	92
Wagner	2	1	5.15	36	0	0	36.2	45	25	21	4	22	23
Claussen	1	3	5.87	6	6	0	30.2	31	23	20	5	18	16
Van Poppel	3	5	6.15	31	10	0	93.2	110	65	64	16	20	60
Acevedo	5	10	6.36	25	23	0	127.1	154	92	90	24	40	98
Hancock	3	1	6.45	9	4	0	22.1	28	18	16	7	10	13
White	1	1	6.75	27	0	0	28.0	29	21	21	11	4	22
Matthews	2	1	8.84	22	0	0	18.1	23	19	18	6	10	8
Valentine	0	1	9.00	5	1	1	8.0	7	8	8	2	7	7
Team Totals	58	63	5.30	121	121	39	1074.2	1206	687	633	170	408	721